Journey to Become the Zenith

The Burden Entrusted

Several minutes slipped by in uneasy silence.

Then—

A sharp, searing pain tore through Victor’s body.

The faint smile lingering on his face froze.

The violent mana he had forcefully absorbed from the young dragon’s heart had finally begun to revolt.

It surged through his meridians like countless raging rivers colliding head-on, each wave crashing against the next with enough force to tear everything apart.

His Demon Lord’s Horn had kept the unstable power under control during the battle.

But only temporarily.

Now...

It had reached its limit.

Victor silently clenched his jaw.

It’s beginning...

The overwhelming strength that had carried him through the fight slowly slipped away, little by little.

What made the situation even worse was what followed.

As the foreign mana receded, it didn’t simply disappear. Instead, it crashed violently into his own mana reserves, refusing to leave peacefully.

If this continued...

His mana pool could suffer irreversible damage.

His breathing gradually became heavier.

Each breath felt hotter than the last.

Invisible ripples spread from his body as unstable mana leaked into the surrounding air, distorting it with barely noticeable waves.

Most people were too exhausted to notice.

But not Videl.

Not Lane.

The moment the disturbance appeared, both women sensed something was terribly wrong.

Without exchanging a single word, they rushed toward him.

Victor swayed.

Before he could fall, Videl caught him, wrapping an arm around his waist to steady him.

Lane was already at his other side, supporting his shoulder.

For the first time in a long while, the calm composure on her face cracked, replaced by unmistakable concern.

"Victor..."

Videl’s voice trembled ever so slightly.

"What... what’s happening to you?"

Lane didn’t speak.

Her dark eyes carefully scanned every inch of his body, searching for injuries.

There were none.

No cuts.

No broken bones.

No blood.

Nothing.

Yet the violent energy raging inside him was impossible to ignore.

It felt as though two enormous rivers were crashing together within his body, threatening to tear him apart from the inside.

Victor let out a slow, controlled breath, forcing himself to remain calm despite the agony spreading through every meridian.

"Don’t worry."

His voice remained surprisingly steady.

"I’ll lose consciousness soon."

He paused, gathering enough strength to suppress the berserk mana for just a few more moments.

"When that happens..."

"I need both of you to hide my body."

The request made both women freeze.

Before either of them could question him, Victor continued.

"And protect it."

"I’m confident I’ll wake up in a day... maybe two."

His golden eyes settled on Videl.

Then shifted toward Lane.

There was an unusual seriousness in his gaze.

A seriousness neither of them had ever seen before.

"But..."

"If I wake up..."

"And I start acting differently..."

His voice became lower.

Colder.

"Don’t let me out of your sight."

His eyes never wavered.

"No matter what I say..."

"No matter what I do..."

"Stop me."

"With everything you’ve got."

Silence followed.

The air suddenly felt much heavier.

Videl looked into Victor’s tired golden eyes.

Countless questions filled her mind.

What exactly had happened?

Why would he become someone else?

What kind of danger was he preparing them for?

She wanted answers.

She wanted to force him to explain everything.

But seeing the exhaustion hidden behind his calm expression...

She couldn’t bring herself to ask.

Instead, she tightened her grip on him and gave a firm nod.

"...I understand."

Lane finally spoke.

Her voice was quiet.

Steady.

"I won’t let anyone touch you."

She met Victor’s gaze without hesitation.

"Even if it costs me my life."

There wasn’t the slightest trace of doubt in her words.

Victor smiled faintly.

A tired, genuine smile.

"...As expected."

"I can always rely on the two of you."

The words had barely left his lips.

Another violent wave of pain exploded throughout his body.

His vision spun.

Darkness crept into the edges of his sight.

The strength drained from his legs.

His body collapsed forward.

"Victor!"

Videl reacted on instinct.

She lunged forward just as Victor’s knees gave out, catching him before his body could crash onto the fractured stone beneath them. The force of his collapse nearly pulled her down with him, but she steadied herself, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

Her heart skipped a beat.

"Victor!"

There was no response.

Only the slow, uneven rhythm of his breathing answered her.

Lane was already at her side. One quick glance was enough to understand the situation.

"We need to move him," she said, her voice calm despite the urgency.

"The people are still watching."

Only then did Videl lift her gaze.

The walls of Fantom City were lined with countless figures.

Soldiers.

Citizens.

Adventurers.

Entire families stood frozen where they were, staring silently at the three of them.

Their expressions were a tangled mixture of fear, curiosity, disbelief, and suspicion.

No one dared take a single step closer.

No one offered help.

They simply watched from a safe distance, whispering among themselves as they tried to make sense of everything they had just witnessed.

Lane’s eyes swept across the crowd before she let out a quiet scoff.

"Forget them," she said coldly.

"They’re too afraid to move."

She turned back toward Victor.

"Let’s get him somewhere safe."

Videl nodded without hesitation.

Together, the two women carefully lifted Victor between them, supporting his weight as gently as they could.

His body, once standing with unshakable resolve against impossible odds, now felt heavy with exhaustion.

His breathing had settled into a slow, steady rhythm.

His consciousness was slipping away with every passing second.

Even so...

A faint smile remained on his face.

It was small.

Peaceful.

Almost content.

Perhaps he was still savoring the victory he had risked everything to achieve.

Or perhaps...

He simply trusted the two women beside him enough to let himself rest.

Step by step, they carried him away from the ruined battlefield, leaving behind the silent city that continued to watch from afar.

Moments later...

Victor’s eyelids fluttered once before slowly closing.

The last trace of awareness faded from his golden eyes.

His body finally went completely limp.

After telling Videl and Lane what to do, Victor fell unconscious.

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